Ranking Montville police officer suspended over use of database

Montville’s highest-ranking police officer is being suspended for two weeks without pay over the use of a computer database, Mayor Ron McDaniel said Thursday.

By JAMES MOSHER

The Bulletin

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Oct. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 5, 2012 at 5:01 AM

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Oct. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 5, 2012 at 5:01 AM

Montville, Conn.

Montville’s highest-ranking police officer is being suspended for two weeks without pay over the use of a computer database, Mayor Ron McDaniel said Thursday.

Lt. Leonard G. Bunnell Sr., a 30-year veteran of the department, was the subject of a disciplinary hearing in July that included alleged use of the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing, or COLLECT, system to conduct background checks that may have been improper. Bunnell was barred from using the system without supervision during an investigation conducted by the state police earlier this year.

A date for the beginning of the suspension wasn’t given by McDaniel, who is also chief of the town police department.

“Yes, I can confirm it is a two-week suspension,” the mayor said Thursday evening.

Bunnell couldn’t be reached for comment.

The state police had no comment on the punishment given to Bunnell, said Lt. J. Paul Vance, the state police’s communications officer.

“We did the investigation at the request of the town,” Vance said. “Lt. Bunnell is a town employee so it’s totally a town issue. It’s up to them to determine what is appropriate.”

Bunnell was accused of using the information system improperly on 38 separate occasions. He was also the subject of an investigation, begun about a year ago, stemming from a harassment complaint filed by Montville Police Officer Karen Moorehead. McDaniel said in July that the harassment complaint was first handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later by New London-based Suisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law. Suisman Shapiro is the town government’s law firm.

On Thursday, McDaniel declined to say if any disciplinary action is planned for Bunnell regarding the Moorehead matter, declining to discuss the status of that case.

Bunnell provides day-to-day oversight of administrative matters and scheduling of personnel, according to the town government’s website. Sgt. Martin Martinez is Montville’s resident state trooper.